


Chains and Hooves

by TheLanternWretch



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Ghosts, Love/Hate, M/M, Sexual Frustration, Specter, Wraith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 18:41:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16918248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLanternWretch/pseuds/TheLanternWretch
Summary: Boredom often leads to killing time - something that even applies to the greatest legends that reside on the Shadow Isles. However, Thresh's mere little game to amuse himself turns sour once Hecarim decides to play along and on Thresh's level.





	Chains and Hooves

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first League content I had ever written many years ago. Things have changed since then, such as my depiction of Thresh from years of writing him, a writing partner of mine taking over the role of Hecarim and drastically changing him, the Lore change for Thresh, etc. However, I still find value in this nostalgic piece of fiction and there absolutely needs to be more Thresh and Hecarim stuff for other who are fans of this ship.

The Chain Warden stood above the black mists that flooded down the cliff before him, feeding into the old inlet that used to be called Grey Harbor. This area of the Shadow Isles was normally quiet, the harbor having been cleared out many years ago during the Harrowing by the infamous herald of the land. Something had disturbed the eerie peace of the land not too long ago. He had heard a sound coming from the usually vacant shores; he sensed a fresh soul had appeared for him to claim as his own. As soon as he had caught vision of the shipwrecked captain and his surviving crew members, the specter grasped onto the handle of his sickle and chuckled. "He'll do."

                Thresh had only just begun to descend the narrow path winding down the cliff when the distant rumble of iron against stone caught his attention. His pace quickened, but so did the sound of quickly moving hooves. He could do nothing to outrun the Shadow of War that had targeted the victims he longed to pull into his lantern. He watched as Hecarim burst through the blackened fog, trumpeting and readying his halberd. The smallest of the crew members froze, unable to scream as the ghostly centaur refused to halt and trampled his body into the ground. The long blade sliced through the air, mutilating the other crew member and leaving his body split in two upon the ground. Another flash of moonlight glinting off the metal blade as Hecarim swung again. The captain shrieked, the tip of the phantom's blade buried deep within his chest. As if to make a point, the equine reaper pressed further till the sound of ripping flesh indicated he had pushed the blade through its mark entirely. Laughing at the light leaving the man's eyes, Hecarim lifted a foreleg and kicked the corpse off his weapon. The body hit the ground without a sound next to his fallen crew. The centaur momentarily reveled in the scarlet blood oozing down the blade before rubbing it clean on the dead grass.

                The Warden snarled as the specter that stole his prey turned to run back into the cover of the darkened mists. He wouldn't let Hecarim get away with taking what he already claimed as his. His speed increased, his feet lifting off the ground as he shot airborne across the ground, his hand outstretched toward his newest victim. Hecarim heard chains clanking wildly together, but by the time he turned his head to see who else would oppose him that night, Thresh had acted. With a grunt, the ghostly jailer threw the enchanted lantern at the centaur, angling it to curve sideways low along the ground. The chain curled around Hecarim's forelegs, the weight of the glowing lantern causing the bone rope to circle around his front legs a few times. Thresh gave a powerful tug and the chain drew taut, his heels digging into the dirt to root himself. Hecarim's legs buckled as the tight chains binding his legs refused to let go of its target. He wobbled, trying to keep himself upright, but, unable to keep his balance, sunk his front half down onto his knees. The ghost's weapon fell onto the ground beside him, useless to cut the faintly glowing chains that confined him.

                Satisfied at catching such an interesting target, Thresh approached the now handicapped Hecarim in front of him. The centaur stomped his back legs and gave his captor a warning growl, his fingers flexing as if wanting to ring the neck the ghostly prison guard didn't have.

                "What a humiliating situation, Hecarim." Thresh said, a hint of snark in his voice. "A horse with his legs bound and being forced to kneel is practically useless for anything other than target practice." His amusement only grew as he watched Hecarim reach down to try and untangle his legs. "Did I say you can free yourself?"

                "You own a lot of souls, Chain Warden, but you do not own mine."

                "We'll see, Hecarim." His luminescent ghostly fingers tightened on the handle of his sickle as his prey ignored him and continued to work on removing the chains binding his forelegs. "Now, now, that just won't do." Using the chain as a rope to lazily pull himself in, Thresh walked closer to his bounty. The centaur stomped his back legs again, finally acknowledging the warden and looking in his direction. "No using hands, either."

                The sound of more chains clinking seemed deafening in the quiet of the mist as Thresh whipped his sickle toward Hecarim. Carefully aimed, the specter used the weight of the blade to curve the scythe and the chains around the centaur's torso and lowered arms. A quick tug made sure the war shadow's arms were pinned to his sides as the chains tightened around their quarry.

                "Damn you, Chain Warden!" Snarled Hecarim. "Don't you have some prisoners to go antagonize?"

                "I could, but they're no longer any fun. I'm looking for something a little more ... unusual." While his face couldn't show it, the tone of his voice couldn't hide his amusement. "Why settle for a mortal human when I can have you? Breaking humans is easy. Breaking a horse is much harder." He chuckled as Hecarim gave a low hiss at being compared to a mere stallion.

                "A horse? Say that to my face, jailer." The centaur snorted, staring down his antagonizer.

                "Fine. I will." Thresh's grasp tightened on the scythe's chain, his hands glowing an even brighter shade of green as he gave a great tug. With ease, he threw himself through the air toward his captive, landing in front of him with a quiet thud. He leaned down, locking eyes with Hecarim. "Horse."

                The equine reaper growled, turning his head defiantly. "Look at me." The Warden commanded. The centaur refused to give in, staring off at a dead tree intently. Thresh let his chains drop to hang alongside him, using his free hands to grab Hecarim's head and force his gaze back onto him. "There. That wasn't hard, was it?" Hecarim only seethed as Thresh ran his fingers down the side of the centaur's armored cheek.

                "What are you doing?" The war shadow tried to pull away, but the wraith only tightened his grip, the ends of his sharp nails scratching across the iron surface protecting the ghostly skull underneath.

                "My sweet Hecarim, I'm only imagining this face covered in flesh ... flesh that I could slowly strip off you." His fingers still tracing over the other's face, he shuddered as if the thought of mutilating another's face sent waves of pleasure down his spine. "The things I would do to you if you still had a mortal body..."

                "I could say the same for you, Thresh." He tried to bite at the fingers of the ghost possessively petting him. "Had I have met you while I was still alive, I would have wasted no time in killing you myself. You'd be less of a bother to me, then."

                "I'm insulted you'd think that you'd have killed me first, considering all it takes is a few chains to bring down the mighty Spirit of War." He felt Hecarim's temper rising as he shifted around. "If you don't behave, I'll make you." He let go of his prisoner's face to give the chains another tug, ensuring that they stayed nice and tight. Another chuckle slipped out as Hecarim continued to thrash. "Struggle all you want, but these chains are as strong as my will and only grow stronger with every soul I harvest."             

                "... I see. You have neglected to tie down every part of me, however." Thresh made an inquisitive noise. "Some of us have more than two legs. I'm sure you noticed? So, what would happen if I were to crush your precious lantern?" The centaur raised one of his hind legs and brought it forward, aiming over the lantern glimmering on the dead earth. "Your chains are strong, but so are my hooves." As his hoof descended, Thresh grabbed a side of his lantern and angrily threw it to the side. It slipped off the hook at the end and came to land a few feet away from them, the eerie green light that was keeping the two of them illuminated seeming to slip away. They were washed over in the dark of night, the lantern only dimly lighting them from its new perch upon the rocks.

                "Nice try, little pony, but you have your tricks, as do I. You forgot that isn't attached to me all the time." Hecarim stomped his hindlegs in anger, aggravated he was outsmarted and still bound to the annoying jailer. "Didn't I tell you to behave?" As if to make a point, he stood, straightening his back and looking down on his prisoner. "I did warn you-" His threat was cut short as he let an aggravated grunt slip out of his mouth.

                Down, but not out, the centaur had leaned forward and bit down on one of Thresh's hands. His teeth grated against the steel gauntlets, leaving behind scratches. "A cute display of desperation. Are you done?" Hecarim, unable to respond with his mouth full, only thrashed his head about like a shark trying to rip up prey. "Enough, Hecarim. You're starting to bore me." The jailer pulled his hand away with a verbal sneer, Hecarim snorting at him.

                "Bore you? I wasn't aware I was supposed to amuse you. If you let me loose, I might be more entertaining."

                "So you can run? We both know I can't catch you. I took you by surprise this one time and I will not pass up a chance to toy with you." He smoothly walked around to Hecarim's side and looked him over. "No weak points, hmm? All armor. I'd expect as much from you."

                "You're one to talk, Thresh. You're nothing but armor yourself, aside from that ugly skull of yours."

                "You refuse to listen, you don't behave, and you insult me? Not only do I have to break you in, I must teach you manners. Allow me."

                "Don't you dare!"

                 Thresh grappled onto the side of one of Hecarim's spiky pauldrons and hoisted himself up onto the centaurs back. "I believe I dared. What are you going to do about it?" He carelessly let his legs hang off either side of his mount, the tips of his shoes grazing the dirt.

                "No one rides me!" Hecarim roared, his struggling becoming increasingly violent.

                "No one but me, it seems." Thresh said nastily. His comment only angered his target more as the frantic movement got worse. His fingers slipping over the worn armor, Thresh resorted to tucking his knees on either side of Hecarim's body; his hands found a sturdy hold on the spikes protruding from the armor on his back. Patiently, the Warden held on tight until the bucking had calmed down.

                A strong glowing hand grabbed the large protruding horn from Hecarim's forehead, the sharp metallic fingers curled around the metal prong creaking quietly. The jailer pulled the centaur's head back, his expressionless mouth almost seeming to smile at him. Feeling safe enough to mess with him a little more, he used his other hand to caress a cheek on his captive. His fingers curled and dragged the sharp protected points across the iron armor on the other's face. "I've seen mules that broke a lot harder than you have. Perhaps I'll even train you to ride with reins while I'm at it." Hecarim's anger spiked again and energy seemed to flow back into his tired body.

                "Get OFF." The phantom roared, his back hooves crashing onto the dirt below him and causing a racket.

                "I might, but only if you keep screaming." Amused at his own joke, the green specter chuckled.

                "I said, get OFF!" With a powerful thrust, Hecarim launched his rear up. Before Thresh could even gasp, Hecarim tucked his human half in as best he could and tumbled, crushing the Warden underneath him as he rolled. The chains had slipped enough for Hecarim to worm his way out of them. He swiftly leapt to his feet, his tail swishing about in aggravation.  He leaned down and reached for something while the other specter was overcoming being dazed.

                Groaning, Thresh rolled onto his back and tried to sit up. A hoof slamming into his chest forced him back down onto the dirt. A heavy thunk and a sudden sickly glow from beside him told the warden his lantern was just returned to him. "I think this is yours, jailer." The centaur sneered.

                Silently, the green ghost glared up at the face of the almost smiling blue spirit. "Now, what to do with you? I can't just let you go for chaining me up like some sort of domesticated pony." He bent down and grabbed the previous captor's collar and hoisted him up onto his feet with one arm. "You love torture, don't you Warden? What if I were to torture you in a way no one else has?" No answer came from the chained phantasm for a moment.

                "Try what you wish. I'm capable of taking anything you can dish out. You couldn't win this game even if you tried."

                 The blue shadow's head turned to eye up the dead tree he was having a staring contest with earlier. Gripping the armored specter in his grasp, Hecarim cantered over, throatily chuckling. Thresh tried to catch his footing on the ground below, but his captor easily dragged him along. As soon as he almost caught himself on the earth below, the ghostly centaur thrust his arm forward, slamming his victim into the tree, pressing his back into the blackened bark.

                "Tell me, Thresh. Do you remember being mortal? It was so long ago." He leaned in, locking glowing eyes with the green ghost. "We both were. I'm sure you remember what it felt like to have skin - to have a real body."

                "What does this have to do with anything?"

                "It's relevant, and I'm guessing a part of you does remember." Hecarim leaned in more, his face looming in Thresh's. "That little bit of mortality you remember will be your downfall." His hand tightened its grip on his prey, his arm not even flinching as Thresh reached up to try and pry his hand loose. "Let me return the favor of sweet humiliation."

                "This is nothing-" Thresh was cut off quickly. His armored body felt the centaur's free hand rest itself on his breast plate. "... What are you doing?" He ceased his struggling out of curiosity of what the spirit was plotting. His question went unanswered and he only became more curious when the hand slipped down his stomach. Thresh laughed uneasily. "Do you plan on petting me to death?"

                "Of course not. I only want to make you squirm." His hand slipped to Thresh's hips, the tips of his armored fingers sliding over the ornate bone ridges running off the end of the jailer's coat. The second his hand brushed Thresh's thigh, the warden flinched.

                "Hecarim, you've made your point clear." His voice was serious. "You can stop." His body jerked again as Hecarim kept moving his hand, slowly slipping up his thigh and eventually coming to a halt on the area underneath the lantern's keys the jailer hung from his belt. "Hecarim." His voice, though angrier, dropped in volume.

                "So, you do remember what it was like to have a body. You remember what this would have felt like." The centaur curled his fingers, grabbing whatever cloth he could. He watched as the usually quick tongued jailer fell silent, wriggling to get out of his most unusual prison. "What's wrong? Does the reminder that you'll never experience pleasures of the flesh again bother you? Does it hurt, Thresh?"

                This time, there was no reply from the quick-witted warden. He only tried to claw himself free of Hecarim's iron-bound grasp. "You didn't answer my question. Perhaps you need coaxing?" The blue shade let go of the worn material of the wraith's pants, his other hand tightening its hold on the collar of the green one's coat. Almost lazily, the centaur felt for Thresh's right hip, his fingers searching for the start of one of his chains. He traced his hand down the side of his skull tasset until he found the chain he knew was there.

                "Don't touch that!" Thresh snarled, the tips of his claws digging into the iron metal of Hecarim's wrist, but the centaur paid him no mind. He closed his hand around the chain, letting it slip through his fingers and brushing against the palm of his hand until he got to the handle of the sickle. Taking it into his hand, he chuckled deeply.

                "Just returning a favor, remember?" The ghost curiously fondled the rough handle of the scythe before lazily throwing it upwards, letting the chain wind around his arm and Thresh's hands. In quick succession he let go of Thresh's collar, grabbed a handful of those acid green fingers and pulled them through the bone chain loops, cleverly freeing his own arm. Hecarim only let go after seizing the end of the scythe and pulling the bonds tight around Thresh's arms, laughing as Thresh started to try to worm him arms free. "You've never been stuck in your own chains before, have you? First time for everything."

                "Bite me, you overgrown pony."

                "I already have, and I fear if I do it again, you might like it too much." The centaur spirit looked at the tree above, his fingers still rubbing against the shaft of the stained green blade until he found what he was looking for - he whipped the sickle up over a sturdy tree branch and watched it wind itself around the wooden limb. The blade hit the bark with a satisfying thunk and seemed to hold tight. Hecarim gave it a test tug and stomped his hooves in glee finding out that the hit was good, and the hold was tight. "Almost as good as if you did it."

                "So, you going to just leave me here then? I can handle that." Even though the warden's voice sounded confident, the sight of him only barely touching the ground with his boots and his bound arms forced over his head was of defeat. At his comment, the shadow of war almost seemed to smile.

                "That would be a waste. Why walk away when I can frustrate you just a little bit more?" He looked over his captive before taking a few heavy hoofed steps forward.

                "Don't." But Hecarim listened as well as before and disregarded the command, instead gripping Thresh's sides firmly. Another step forward and the small bit of human hips Hecarim had dug into Thresh's. He held him close, his face only a few inches from the other's.

                "I think I can see you blushing." Hecarim teased, watching Thresh writhe in discomfort. He had guessed right in thinking that Thresh had remembered what owning a moral body felt like, especially when put in such an invasive situation. "What use is a prison guard if he can't keep his own prisoners in line?" His laughter only grew more rancorous as the Warden took the insult personally, his arms jerking wildly to try and wiggle free. "It's no wonder you didn't survive your little playthings revolting - you can't keep anyone under your control, and certainly not me." The tips of his clawed fingers curled into the faded cloth between the pieces of armor on the captive jailer, keeping him as close and uncomfortable as possible. Hecarim moved his face closer, invading any last bit of personal space Thresh had.  "You're much too easy I mess with. I feel bad for you."

                The centaur's gloating was cut short; the emerald ghost furiously whipped his head forward, headbutting his captor's head smartly as the tendrils curling off his head threw themselves around wildly. The blue shadow hissed, staggering a few steps back, dazed. The single moment of confusion was all Thresh needed to pull down with all his weight, cracking the branch and bringing himself, his hanging point, and his scythe back to the dead dreary Earth.

                The instant he felt the bottom of his boots hit the ground, Thresh quickly snatched up his sickle and whipped it at Hecarim. The centaur was ready for him this time, and grabbed the chain, pulling the wraith to him. "You're not the only one who can play dirty, Thresh. Just remember this the next time you decide to lasso me with your chains." He thrust the blade back into Thresh's hands and shoved him aside fiercely, Thresh stumbling a few steps back. Hecarim retrieved his weapon before rearing back, his back legs pushing off the ground hard as he sprung into a gallop. He plunged back into the black mists, leaving the flustered and angered warden behind. In vain, he yelled after his escaped quarry.

                "One of these days, Hecarim, I will find a way to hurt you! It's only a matter of time before I take that disgusting soul of yours for myself, and I will enjoy every second it takes to rip it from that body!" Momentarily defeated, he turned and swiftly made his way back toward the jail he haunted, eager for easier targets to destroy.


End file.
